Questions And Answers

We are using a venturi vacuum system together with conductive vacuum cups, for pick and place of static sensitive semiconductors. Will attaching an inline ionizer to the air line prior to the venturi, reduce the static charge on the device when it's released? - Anonymous, Santa Clara, CA

Answer

No, I do not believe so, because the nature of a venturi, the pressure difference is causing a vacuum to be pulled, "sucking" the part to the chuck, therefore the ionized air would never get to it (the air flow is reversed at that point). So there won't be a direct connection of the ionized air to the device. But if all the parts (tubes, etc.) are conductive, then there is a possibility that both grounding and using a balanced ionized air flow may help in reducing charges to the device that may be caused by the non-ionized air flow.